Commerce Residents Urged To Use Home Fix-it Grants Before They Disappear
City staff may become more proactive in getting residents to take advantage of nearly $140,000 in home rehabilitation grants.
By Elizabeth Hsing-Huei Chou, EGP Staff Writer
If you live in Commerce and have a leaky roof or an old window that needs to be replaced, then there’s free money waiting for you at the city’s Community Development department. Homeowners and renters who would like to fix up the exterior of their homes or make them more energy efficient are eligible for a grant of up to $10,000. But these funds won’t be waiting around for residents forever.
“Use it or lose it,” warns RDA Project and Housing Manager Christina Diaz Perez.
The Home Preservation Grant funds expire at the end of June each year, and if the county, which doles out the funds, sees that they are not being used, it might think the residents of the city don’t actually need the money and decide against awarding funds the following year.
The city gets a total of $140,000 a year to run the grant program, which means well over thirteen households would be able to receive grants this year. Most households in Commerce qualify for the income bracket that the grant is meant for, Perez says. Four person households that make up to $65,800 annually, or three person households that make up to $59,200 annually are the perfect candidates for the grant.
Brought in to pick up the pace and get the word out about Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) programs, Perez recently moved things forward by getting a service agreement with a non-profit called the Veterans in Community Service (VICS) approved by the city council.
VICS will be responsible for doing lead testing in the community and handling the repairs and weatherization of homes benefiting from the grant, while city staff will handle the application intake and marketing of the program. No more than twenty percent of the total funds, or $28,400 in this case, can be used to pay for staff work and VICS services.
The Home Preservation Grant Funds are available at the beginning of the fiscal year starting in July, but Perez says the Community Development department had been too understaffed to make progress on moving those funds out to residents who need them. Effective outreach for these programs usually requires extensive door knocking campaigns and community meetings. The department has been more “responsive” than proactive in the past, Perez says.
These programs are usually advertised by word of mouth and through flyers, but many residents who need serious maintenance on their homes haven’t taken full advantage of the grant program. “That’s not a good thing. That’s one of the things I’m evaluating. Do I need to start knocking on doors? Are people sensitive to fears that they don’t qualify?” Perez says.
Even if residents think they don’t fit the requirements, there are other ways to indicate financial hardship that would qualify them for the grant. The city is willing to work with applicants who need the financial assistance, she says. There are even loans available for homes that need up to $50,000 in serious repairs, she says.
Other CDBG-funded programs taking shape in the near future include the installation of six bus shelters in residential neighborhoods, street resurfacing, and a community policing program.
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January 15, 2009 Copyright © 2010 Eastern Group Publications, Inc.
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